That will be the message Sunday when the Raiders commemorate Native American Heritage Month with a radio broadcast in Navajo, a performance by a Native dance group, and a ceremony honoring Code Talker and former Navajo Nation leader Peter MacDonald.

“We salute the Navajo Nation and the Navajo Code Talkers and we are proud to broadcast Raider games in Navajo for the fifth consecutive season,” Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask says in this story on the team’s Web site. “We are committed to reaching our global fan base in a variety of languages and through a variety of multimedia options. Broadcasting our games in Navajo allows us to do this and also presents another opportunity to preserve the Navajo language and to salute the Navajo Code Talkers.”

MacDonald, from Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., will be honored during pregame on-field ceremonies, and Native Boogie and Beats will present a traditional dance performance.

The Raiders report that Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs will air in Navajo through an agreement with KTNN 660 AM. Ten Raider games have been broadcast in Navajo in conjunction with KTNN over the past four seasons – two in 2008, four in 2007, two in 2006 and two in 2005. L.A. Williams and Samuel Boyd, both veteran broadcasters, will call the action.

If you’re out of range, KTNN streams online here.

Some of the profits from ticket sales of Sunday’s game will go the American Indian Child Resource, Inter-tribal Friendship House, Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley and Lovelock Paiute Tribe.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Kansas City Chiefs, Native American news, Navajo Code Talkers, Navajo Nation, Oakland Raiders, Peter MacDonald